Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- Peruvian President Alan Garcia and his Chilean counterpart Michele Bachelet have announced they will meet later this afternoon during the Community of Andean Nations Summit currently being held in the Bolivian city of Tarija.

Chilean and Peruvian diplomatic relations have experienced some tough times as of late due to the ongoing controversy caused by the 'pending' maritime ocean limit.

Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde and Alejandro Foxely, Chancellors from Peru and Chile, respectively, have recently reaffirmed their opposing positions on the matter leading many to speculate that a prompt resolution is unlikely to occur.

Enter Garcia and Bachete - Both leaders have not divulged the subject of their meeting, though many believe they will attempt to smooth out any differences caused by the recent declarations made by diplomats and political parties from both nations.

The maritime border limit has been a constant thorn in the side of recent Peru-Chile relations. Chile has long claimed that the ocean limit between both countries was set in previous treaties while Peruvian officials maintain that those treaties only referred to fishing boundaries.

Peruvian officials have recently stated that they will take their claim to the UN's International Court of Justice in The Hague while Chilean officials have reiterated they will not acknowledge 'unfounded claims.'